Are you fed up with federal politics?

I just got an email from a CBC National producer. They’re looking for a bunch of non-voting Canadians to participate in “a kind of election boot camp”. I think it’s kinda cool, a reality-type show, getting people an inside peek at what goes on, with the hope it’ll engage Canadian (non-voting) voters.
I was chatting with a Danish friend of mine here, and I found out that their voting participation rates are over 95%. It’s the law there. I think Canada should make voting mandatory, too. Voting is the least a citizen can contribute towards their nation.
Here’s the text:

Are you fed up with federal politics? Think your vote doesn’t matter? Do you believe a candidate has to earn your vote before you’ll go to the polls, and therefore you refuse to mark an X beside “the lesser of the evils”?
Perhaps you’ve never voted before – and you’re certainly not going to begin now. Or maybe you’re disappointed with the party you’ve voted for in the past. Perhaps that that party no longer exists.
Whatever the reason, if you have no intention of voting in the next federal election, I’d like to speak with you.
I’m a producer with The National at CBC News and we’re planning a segment for our coverage of the next federal election. We’re looking to gather a group of non-voting Canadians to participate in a kind of election boot camp. During the lead-up to the election, participants will get a behind-the-scenes look at campaigning and the elections process. Will it change their attitudes toward voting? Maybe, or maybe not. Ultimately we want to try to engage people in the process and maybe have a little fun on the way, too.
If you’re interested in finding out more information, or know of someone who would be a good candidate (no pun intended) for this televised forum, please do not hesitate to reach me at the contacts below.
Best regards,
Leslie Stojsic
The National
tel. (416) 205-2022
leslie_stojsic@cbc.ca
cbc.ca/national

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 10th, 2004 at 6:01 am. It is filed under Hindsight.
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3 Responses to “Are you fed up with federal politics?”

I say that whoever doesn’t vote, cannot complain about the current government.
Pretty fair, isn’t it? You don’t care about your government, it doesn’t care about you. Doesn’t matter if you go and vote for the Yogic Flying Party or spoil your ballot. The point is, you excercised your right and privilege in this country.

I think Phil has a point. Mandatory voting, errr… Well, that sort of solves the wrong problem. Gets the count up, but doesn’t make Dutch policy any better.
Where Phil might fall short is that people who don’t vote, DO complain. It’s clear to me that everyone cares about government, because everyone cares about how they live. Government affects that whether you vote or not or care or not – from the richest to the poorest.
If that’s the case, I ‘vote’ we move to educate and communicate and propagate a community that acts.
This CBC thing is good eats. Wish I could join, but I already vote – and eagerly.